


Armani Xavier

by Biologyny



Category: Original Work
Genre: Detectives, Mystery, Steampunk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:14:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22612363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Biologyny/pseuds/Biologyny
Summary: Armani Weston, an overly optimistic freelance detective, lands a job at Afton Private Detective Agencies, owned and operated by Xavier Afton, a pessimistic private investigator. A string of crimes has popped up in some of the most wealthy neighborhoods in the city of Esma. Despite their many, many differences, Armani and Xavier must work together to discover the source of these crimes.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. A Job and A Friend

It was approximately 2:13 pm. Armani stepped off of the aero-bus onto the elevated platform that connected the public transport to the uppermost part of the city of Esma. In her hands, she held a newspaper, a large red circle around a job offer at an agency that she had heard of, but hadn’t looked too far into. She tucked the paper under her arm and walked down the stairs towards the concrete footpaths of the city. Strong gusts of wind blew her hair into her face, along with smog from the lower parts of Esma, aptly named SubEsma. Armani waved the smog away from her face and continued forward until she arrived at her destination. A two-story office building, sort of plain and decrepit from the outside, but on the door, written in copper paint, was the name of the establishment;

> ###  _ Afton Private Detective Agencies _

Armani smiled at the lettering, even for this part of the city it was extravagant, especially in contrast with the seemingly dilapidated old building. She turned the knob of the door and went inside, not without having the door stick for a moment before she crashed in.

“Ow,” Armani huffed, but she quickly readjusted herself, checking to see if anything in her crossbody had been damaged by her tumble. 

“So sorry about that dear! I’ve been telling Mr. Afton to get that fixed but he’s always so busy he hasn’t gotten to fixing it!” 

Armani looked up at the voice, and at the reception desk sat a young woman, maybe a bit older than Armani herself. The woman was wearing the typical leather corset, along with a frilled dress shirt underneath. On the shirt was a silver pin, cast in the shape of Esma’s emblem, a crown set atop a series of gears. Armani pried her attention from the pin to the woman’s face. She was wearing black horned rim glasses, her eyes were a dark gray, with flecks of blue, and she had sleek black hair pulled into a tight bun. 

“Ah! I’m sorry! I should have introduced myself! My name is Genevieve Baker,” Genevieve stood up and crossed out from behind the desk to greet Armani properly. Genevieve curtsied, further solidifying her upper-class origins in Armani’s mind. 

“Name’s Armani Weston,” she held her hand out for a handshake, “I saw that there was an ad for an assistant detective here.”

“Oh yes of course!” Genevieve smiled warmly, but as she got a good look at Armani her smile faltered slightly. There were two things that Armani had noticed caught Genevieve’s eye; the many dark scars the painted her legs and her scarlet hair.

“Uhm… if I may ask,” Genevieve circled Armani, her bustled skirt slightly dragging on the floor of the room, “How did you get those on your legs, dear? And-”

“Don’t know where the scars are from and my hair is naturally this color. Don’t know how that happened either.”

“Hm, alright. I’ll tell Mr. Afton that you’re here for an interview.” And with that final sentence, Genevieve had left the room and ascended the old stairway in the back of the parlor.

Armani sat in one of the chairs that lined the wall and sighed, “I knew I shouldn’t have worn the dungarees.” She sat for a while, staring at the floor, the only indication of passed time being the incessant ticking of the clock on the wall. Eventually (around 5:30, as Armani had gotten a quick glance at the clock), the sound of heels walking down the stars pricked her attention away from the floor and to the stairway.

“Mr. Afton would like to see you now.”


	2. Clippings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Job Interviews. How boring.

Armani made her way up the stairs, looking back at Genevieve, who gave her a warm smile and a nod. Armani crossed the short bit of floor to the door of who she assumed was Mr. Afton’s office. She raised her hand to knock at the door but faltered a bit before finally knocking. 

“Come in,” a rough voice came from inside the office. Armani opened the door and peered in. Sitting at a black stained desk was a very tall man, with swooped periwinkle hair. Armani walked a bit towards the desk before she noticed another feature of Mr. Afton; his right eye had a black sclera. She had known about sclera tattoos being very popular in Lower Esra, but not here in Upper Esra. Mr. Afton furrowed his brow and snapped Armani out of her thought process, which had since left the idea of eye tattoos to art she had seen somewhere when she lived in Middle Esra. 

“Ma’am are you here for an interview or to waste my time?” Mr. Afton said, his voice making Armani jump a bit.

“Oh! Sorry I guess I just got los-”

“Don’t say another word. I noticed you looking at my eye. The first rule, if you work with me, is that you do not say anything about my eye. Understand?”

Armani nodded. ‘ _He’s kinda scary,’_ Armani thought, ‘ _Hopefully this is just a front.’_ She walked fully forward at the desk and took a seat. She made sure to sit fully straight.

“Okay. Now that that’s out of the way. You want a job here right? What are your credentials? And your name. Genevieve failed to mention that to me when we were talking.”

“My name is Armani Weston. And I’ve worked as a freelance detective for around five years now.”

Mr. Afton opened a drawer on his side of the desk and presented a few newspapers to Armani.

“There, in that photo. That’s you right?” Mr. Afton pointed to the photo on the front cover in the topmost newspaper. The photo was of Armani, possibly from two or three years ago, and definitely wasn’t in Upper Esma.

“Yes, that is me.”

“And how old are you in that photo, Armani?”

The way he said her name sent chills up her spine. 

“I’m not sure, Mr. Afton.”

“Hm.” Mr. Afton placed the newspapers back into his desk. He stood up, making Armani awe in just how _tall_ he was. She looked up at his face.

“Well, Miss Weston, I do know a lot about you already. You’re quite popular where I’m from.” 

Armani drew in a sharp breath, not commenting.

“You seem very capable, very intelligent. However, from what I’ve heard, you are very headstrong, very overbearing, and I quote, ‘ _sickeningly positive’_.”

Armani’s shoulders slumped. ‘ _Great, I’m not getting the job,’_ Armani went to stand before Mr. Afton crossed out from behind the desk and placed a hand on her shoulder, “I think maybe, you might be a fit for this group.”

Armani processed for a bit before a smile spread across her face. She stood very swiftly, making Mr. Afton recoil. 

“Oh thank you Mr. Afton!! I promise I’ll be perfect for this position!”

Mr. Afton straightened himself back up again before clearing his throat.

“Xavier.”

“Huh?” Armani cocked her head to the side.

“You may call me Xavier. Since you are my assistant you don’t have to call me _Mister_.”

Armani beamed, then held her hand out for a deal-sealing handshake. Xavier grabbed her hand, and with that simple gesture, let Armani into his life.


End file.
